How often do people feel that visible fearful objects are less terrible than imagining horrible things? The answer is that not many people have that depth of thinking. However, William Shakespeare possessed that profound outlook, and so one of his popular characters, Macbeth, emerges as the first invention of an author who carries that highly meaningful notion.
William Shakespeare evolved prophecy as the lifeblood to pen the storyline of the play The Tragedy of Macbeth. Yes, Witches’ prophecy is the sole lifeline in the Shakespearean drama that helps draw the required elements to make the play’s storyline appealing. Also, Macbeth’s belief regarding visible objects, imaginative things, and fear are the aftermath of that forecast.
When part of the witches’ foretelling appears to Macbeth coming true, the Shakespearean hero tries desperately to analyze the nature of the irresistible incitement happening in him. He knows very well that it is none other than those forecasting words of the three supernatural elements that have caused that incitement. But he tries to realize why the prophecy ignites a sense of provocation in him.
His sense of logical realization convinces him that the provocation can’t breed any good outcome. He understands that the prophecy unlocks only the doors of heinous thinking. His idea of killing King Duncan is nothing but the result of the incitement that the prophecy gives birth to.
Macbeth understands that he vaguely conceives a criminal idea of murdering an innocent human being. Moreover, that idea starts haunting him and simultaneously horrifies him to the extreme point.
The essential part is that the concept of planning a crime is only in its embryo form. In reality, it exists only in Macbeth’s imagination, yet a panic feeling mixed with pure provocation starts haunting him severely. As a result of fear, he feels a terrible tremble in his mind. He conceives a strong notion that visible fearful objects are less terrible than those horrible objects existing in his imagination.
Macbeth gives birth to a strong feeling that the objects of terror that, in reality, exist always stand as less frightening than those horrific things that a human mind imagines. In short, imagined things appear more impactful in the human mind compared to those objects that breathe in actuality.
It is an inescapable bitter reality that the contemplation of murdering King Duncan to grab the throne of Scotland almost paralyzes the entire system of Macbeth’s existence as a human being. Moreover, the impact emerges so high and severe that his potential to think and act logically and humanly becomes completely numb.
The concept and resolution that visible fearful objects are less terrible than the panicking imagined objects hit Macbeth’s notion so hard that he starts embracing imaginative things as true and perfect. His highly agitated state of mind now compels his sense to believe and accept the imaginary things as real and the genuinely existing things as imaginary. In truth, every imagined or fantasized thing appears to Macbeth as genuine and existing. On the other hand, every truly existing object in actuality seems merely fictional or imaginary.
The beginning words about Macbeth in the play portray him as a noble soldier who embodies courage as his heroic identity on the battlefield and demonstrates his honesty and loyalty to his king. However, the entire good image receives a big question mark when Macbeth’s thinking power starts giving birth to the idea of heinous crime.
Witches’ prophecy lulls his greed and shakes his conscience so much that he becomes an utterly confused and simultaneously an absolute terror-stricken person. One aspect of his thought unhesitatingly questions the acceptance of the prophecy. The other side of his thinking desires to embrace the witches’ forecast as genuine. Macbeth’s agitated, confused mind starts breeding a specific concept that the visible fearful objects are less terrible than imagining horrible things.
According to many literary experts, every word of Shakespeare’s soliloquy regarding Macbeth’s thinking and confused mind manifests the birth date of Macbeth’s guilty mind. They say that the, so far, inactive greed of Macbeth’s wild ambition starts getting activated after receiving a robust jerk from the witches’ foretell. The impact is so strong that once a noble soldier suddenly begins exploring ideas about how to commit a crime like murdering a human.
His paralyzed conscience gives him permission to emerge powerful in his imagination without any real mental strength. His power of thinking carries two contrary views. At one time, he thinks logically and wishes to end the journey of producing flawed thinking, although he fails to find a concrete way to stop that contemplation forever.
His words of confusion and agitation, visible fearful objects are less terrible, display that his badly hit conscience distinctly warns him about the nature of his incitement. But he fails to prevent and convince his mind that lulling a heinous mind is no good.
A severe conflict pricks his mind constantly, and gradually, he becomes a victim of mental impatience. His sensitive mind turns into an insensitive creature that ultimately gets hammered and torn by extreme conflict. Everything real seems to him unreal, and unreality appears to him as the only reality on earth. This insensitive and illogical mindset is also the key element that provokes Macbeth to believe unreal murder to be a reality.
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The Way Shakespeare Portrays Macbeth’s Hallucination of a Dagger